Two days of amnesty left for tax evaders

If you've secretly been holding money offshore and haven't reported it on your taxes, you must do so by Thursday, Oct. 15. That's when the IRS ends its current tax amnesty program, so if you wait any longer, you could face huge fines and jail time. Furthermore, UBS (UBS), Switzerland's largest bank, is about to release another 4,450 names of account holders suspected of tax evasion to the U.S. government, and once the IRS has your name, it will be too late to make a deal.

No date has been announced publicly for the transfer of names, but it is expected to happen soon.

But tax evaders who don't bank with UBS shouldn't assume they're safe. Investigations initiated based on information acquired from earlier amnesty claims have identified other banks and financial advisers being used by U.S. citizens to hide money in offshore accounts, and those investigations could lead the IRS to non-UBS clients.